In the early hours of Sunday, Iranian missiles hit deep — not just into Israeli territory, but into the heart of its scientific pride.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, a globally renowned research hub with decades of work in life sciences, physics and chemistry, was heavily damaged in a direct strike that Israeli officials and scientists are calling both a tactical and symbolic blow.

"They managed to harm the crown jewel of science in Israel," said Professor Oren Schuldiner, standing near the rubble that once housed his lab of 16 years.

"It's a moral victory for them."

No one was killed in the attack, but the impact was devastating.

Two buildings were directly hit — one home to life sciences labs, the other still under construction.

At least a dozen others were damaged, shattering windows, twisting steel, and reducing sophisticated research environments into burnt-out shells.

"This was the life's work of many people," said Professor Sarel Fleishman.

"Some labs were literally decimated. Really, nothing was left."

Iran flips the script

For years, Israel has targeted Iranian nuclear scientists in covert assassinations, aiming to delay or derail Tehran's nuclear programme.

With the latest strike, Iran appeared to signal that it now considers Israel's own scientific elite fair game.

The Weizmann Institute, founded in 1934 and named after Israel's first president, is often ranked among the world's top research centres.

It has built Israel's first computer, and has ties with Israel's defence industry — including collaborations with defence firm Elbit Systems.

That connection, said analyst Yoel Guzansky, may have factored into its selection as a target.

"The institute symbolises Israeli scientific progress," he said.

"And Iran is sending a message: 'You target our scientists, we'll target yours.'"

This is not the first time Iran has allegedly tried to target scientists associated with Weizmann.

In 2023, Israeli authorities foiled what they described as an Iranian-linked plot to track and kill a nuclear scientist living on campus.

Several Palestinian suspects from occupied East Jerusalem were arrested before the plan could be executed.

The current strike, however, went further than plans ever had.

Schuldiner's voice trembled as he recalled walking through the wreckage: "There is nothing to save. No trace. All of our studies have stopped. It will take years to rebuild."

With the campus still closed, scientists are struggling to estimate when or how they can resume their work.

Beyond the destruction, the mutual attacks mark a turning point in the conflict — an expansion of the battlefield to include minds, not just missiles.

"This is very significant damage to the science that we can create," Schuldiner said.